Restoring incremental backups

Incremental restores build on each other the way incremental backups build on the initial level-0 backup. Therefore, to restore an incremental backup, you need all the backup tapes from the level-0 backup through the last backup that you want to restore.

About this task

If you attempt an incremental restore to a storage system running Data ONTAP 6.2 or later from a storage system running a version earlier than Data ONTAP 6.2, the restore will fail. This is because there is a formatting code change between the two code releases. You need to run the full backup again after you have upgraded to Data ONTAP 6.2 or later.

Steps

Restore the level-0 backup.
Follow the prompts.
You might be asked to remove or insert tapes.
Restore each incremental backup in the increment chain that you want to restore, starting with the lowest-level backup and going to the last backup that you want to restore.
Attention: During an incremental restore operation, a temporary directory labeled .restore_do_not_touch_xxxxxxx will appear in the active file system. Do not edit or delete this directory. The system will delete this directory after the current incremental restore operation is completed.
After all the incremental restores are completed, delete the restore_symboltable file from the root of the destination directory.
Note: The restore_symboltable file contains information required to perform incremental restores. If you intend to perform incremental restores, ensure that this file is not deleted until all the incremental restores are completed.